I've found some good recipes here. My crockpot is a lifesaver right now. Work is crazy busy and lunch is on the road just about every day. Healthy dinners are a must, as are breakfast beans and eggs to start the day.

I don't want to derail this thread. I will post recipes of my own but I'd rather not draw traffic away from these blogs by posting their recipes here. I want them to get plenty of traffic so they keep posting Just a warning - my recipes tend to be very flexible.

Put whole frozen chicken in crock pot, breast side up if it'll fit that way, otherwise however you can fit it. Add liquid and spices. Cook on low for 10 hours.

I love this because I don't have to remember to defrost the chicken first; it goes in frozen and comes out with the meat falling off the bones. The skin gets pretty soggy esp. on the bottom, but we all take the skin off around here anyway, right? It's very easy to shred up whatever meat is left after you eat what you want and use in other recipes, plus you'll get some broth left at the bottom (though you will need to strain off the fat).

*My own note - I make this recipe vegetarian more often than not, and it turns out deliciously. Just skip the ham hock parts, do everything else as directed. You do not need to soak the beans overnight.*

PREP-AHEAD TRIPS: You can store the following ingredients together:
1. Cook the vegetables as described in step 1, then transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate.
2. Pick over and rinse the black beans and refrigerate.

2. Transfer the vegetables to the slow cooker insert and stir in the water, broth, black beans, ham hocks, and bay leaves until evenly combined. Cover and cook on low until the soup has thickened and the beans are tender, 8 to 10 hours. (Alternatively, cover and cook on high for 6 to 7 hours.)

3. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Remove the ham hocks and transfer them to a plate to cool. Meanwhile, puree 2 cups of the soup in a blender until smooth, then stir back into the slow cooker insert. When the hocks are cool enough to handle, remove any meat, discarding the skin, fat, and bones, and add the meat back to the soup. Stir in the cilantro, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Directions:
Heat the oil in a large skillet and brown the turkey thighs well on all sides, about 8 minutes.
Remove the thighs and place in your slow cooker.
Add the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic to the skillet, and cook until softened and lightly browned, stirring often, about 8 minutes.
Add the wine to the skillet and reduce to less than half over high heat.
Add the vegetables and wine to the crockpot along with the tomatoes, paste, water, and seasonings.
Stir well, and turn the crackpot on low for 8 hours, removing the lid during the last hour.
Cook the pasta in a large pot of lightly salted water until it is "al dente".
Drain the pasta and return to the pot.
Toss the pasta with a large scoop of sauce.
Serve in individual bowls, with a scoop of additional sauce on each.
Pass the grated cheese at the table.

Preparation :
- Chop onion and garlic fine in chopper or food proccesor
- brown garlic and onion to desired level in skillet with oil, pour into slow cooker pot
- Peel potatoes if desired, I don't as the peel gives good flavor. Chop potatoes into small pieces, place in slow cooker. Decrease potato volume for smaller slow cooker (mine is 6.5)
- cover potatoes completely with broth
-liberally pepper (Dh says the two most important ingredients in potato soup are potatoes and pepper, so I put in what I think I need, then put in some more, then add more during cooking and at the end)
- stir to blend all ingredients
- cook on low for 8-9 hours
- stir in cream, let cook for 15 minutes or so
-add more pepper, salt to taste. If you want you can stir in shredded cheese here.
- at this point you can go several ways. If you like thin soup, puree with stick blender. I like chunky, so I break the potatoes up with a fork. After 8-9 hours they break up well on their own. I'm getting a potato masher soon to try.
- this will hold on warm for a long time, and will thicken as it warms. Add reduced fat milk or skim 1/4 cup at a time to Thin, or when you add the cream if you want thinner.
- top with shredded cheese, bacon bits, scallions, whatever you like

With the listed ingredients the entire crock comes to 2600 calories and makes about 8 servings. Reheat beautifully.

A roux is an equal mix of flour and fat (either butter or oil), and it basically thickens and helps to flavor a dish. Depending on how long you cook your roux, it can be either light, medium, or dark. If your roux begins to burn at all, there’s no saving it. You’ll need to throw it out and start over. It’s disheartening, but it’s not the end of the world. To help prevent this from happening, you will need to:
- Make sure your heat is not too high.
- Stir constantly.
- Remove from heat before you think it’s quite done. The heat from the pan will continue to cook and darken the roux.

In a medium, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat (closer to medium than high), combine oil and flour to make your roux. Whisk constantly for 3-4 minutes, until the roux becomes fragrant and just begins to darken. Turn heat down to low and whisk constantly for several more minutes, or until the roux is about the color of peanut butter. I made two cups and split it - took me about 40 minutes to cook all that to the right color. You can really tell when it turns, the smell is gorgeous.

Pour the roux into the crock pot. Add all remaining ingredients EXCEPT shrimp. The mixture will seem all raw and gross at this point. Trust. Stir and cover. Cook on low for 7-9 hours.

When you have about 20 minutes to go, add the shrimp.

Serve over rice.

- I made this as a prep ahead and freeze meal. I put all ingredients in a freezer bag and froze it flat. I made the roux in a large batch and froze it in individual disks, dropped one disk in the baggie as I froze it. It might have worked better if I'd poured it in liquid and let it freeze coating it, which I might try next time I make roux. As it was I have 7 roux disks individually frozen in baggies to add as needed.

To cook the freezer bag, pull out of freezer, pour into cooker, cook on low for 8-9 hours. I added a can of rotel in the pot when I poured in the freezer bag, and about 1/8 cup of chicken broth to give a little liquid. You can let the bag sit in the sink to thaw for half an hour or so if you need to be able to break up the veg to fit in your cooker pot.

- Add cayenne pepper in the last couple of hours if you like it spicier as I do. It needed the spice kicked up a little.